Infinite Paths: The Raging Phoenix

The group found one one of the uses for the mana extracted, but that wasn't enough. They had to keep going, but ten of those guards were on the side of the corridor. Other groups of ten seemed to be moving around and patrolling while they watched the cargo being moved to trucks… it was only obvious that a place that massive would have hundreds of guards.

Everyone looked at Rain and waited for his orders. They hadn't been found until now, but they couldn't relax or do things half-assedly. Rain looked around using Magic Eyes in order to find anything like a barrier, or that could track him, but he didn't find anything. Still, his senses were warning him to keep his guard up.

In the distance, Rain could see the massive cannon standing upward like usual. It was only obvious that the massive boulder they used hadn't caused any damage, but confirming that was still a bit depressive.

While Rain was watching the base, he couldn't help but think that they would need another diversion. The city was completely gray since everything there was made of the same gray metal.

At the same time, the buildings were all exactly the same, same shape, size, height… Rain and the others couldn't see people moving around there, and maybe only military personnel lived there… Regardless, finding themselves there might be difficult if a fight breaks out.

"The belts are moving thanks to electricity, I can control it to some extent and cause a malfunction behind, that should attract some guards," Sakaki said.

Rain considered that for a moment, that would be helpful since they would be able to distract a lot of the guards from a distance, but it was a bit risky when they didn't know anything about the defensive systems of the area. Besides, they would be leaving traces of their mana behind.

Instead of causing a malfunction like that would leave traces of their actions behind, Rain decided to do something more personal. Rain retreated a bit and then tapped a few times with his finger on one of the capsules until some cracks appeared on it, and the mana liquid began to fall. Nothing happened, but when the capsule reached the exit, a bunch of guards suddenly turned toward it all at once.

"Their armor has some sensors as well…" Sakaki said.

Rain told everyone to keep quiet, so he couldn't help but sigh… in any case, while the guards in the area were distracted by the supposedly malfunctioned capsule, Rain and the others flew above them without being noticed. They could have done that without any diversion, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

Before long, the group reached the top of one of the buildings around, but Rain didn't land in it since the structures also had a lot of mana passing through them. There was a chance that they could sound some alarm if they did that, after all. Thinking like that sure was tiresome… in any case, while looking around, the group noticed that the buildings didn't have windows.

They couldn't see any sun in the sky, but the place was completely well-lit without any visible source of light.

"This place is really weird… everything feels unnatural," Liss said.

"Because it is. This entire place was built with the use and metals," Rain explained. "The entire process was probably helped with magic, but in order to have full control of this place, they couldn't leave any parts here that would be made of natural elements in their usual forms."

"This also increases the defenses of the place in case of an attack, considering the numerous lines on the ground and even around the buildings, I would guess that this place can change shapes as they see fit," Sakaki added.

"Who cares about that? I am more worried as to why the streets are so empty," Larisa said. "This place is humongous, but we don't see many vehicles moving around and they are all truck-looking vehicles.

Rain considered the unusual emptiness of the city, and a few possibilities crossed his mind. One logical explanation could be that the entire place was under a form of martial law, especially considering the ongoing conflict with Rain and his companions. The lack of civilian activity could have been a precautionary measure, with people confined to their homes or restricted to specific areas.

However, as Rain observed the monotonous structures and the absence of any signs of daily life, he couldn't shake the feeling that this emptiness might be a deliberate choice rather than a consequence of martial law. It occurred to him that the population should have intentionally relocated to one of the four planets, where the immobile monsters posed less of a threat.

In such a scenario, the city would function primarily as a massive military or industrial facility, designed for a specific purpose rather than as a living space.

The buildings, devoid of windows and constructed entirely from artificial materials, further supported this notion. The meticulous planning and lack of any natural elements in their usual forms hinted at a place designed for efficiency and control, with little consideration for aesthetics or the comfort of its inhabitants.

They needed more information… even though they could see things with their own eyes, it wasn't enough. Far from it… and that was a problem, it almost looked like the enemies also had prepared for that kind of covert operation. In any case, the group soon moved again toward the cannon.

After traveling silently for several hours, the group eventually could see the target from a close range, but not so close. They had to stop dozens of kilometers away because the cannon was highly protected…

"I knew that this wouldn't be easy, but…" Rain thought while feeling like sighing.

"Forget about them. At first, I didn't think much of the idea of destroying the cannon, but isn't that thing too big for that?" Jori asked.

Rain could understand that way of thinking… they had to destroy the base of the structure, after all…